Reasons behind Russia’s recent rapid advance in eastern Ukraine

He shared his insights on Espreso TV.

"There are multiple reasons, but I think a main one is this: when we had to pull back from Vuhledar and other positions, the enemy forced us out. These were high-ground positions — prime locations. Avdiivka, Vuhledar, all of these are spots we had to leave. We had to fall back 10-12 kilometers to areas where the terrain would at least let us hold a decent defense. But with all the pressure — emotional, political, media — pulling back by 10 kilometers would’ve looked like a disaster. So we held on to lowland positions, where fighting is tougher, which allows the Russians push us back faster. That’s the first and probably the biggest reason," he said.

Hetman also pointed out two other factors: the steady reinforcements for Russian troops and the shortage of personnel among Ukrainian defenders.

"The second reason is that Russia keeps throwing in additional forces — all its available reserves are on the front line. And the third is that our defensive brigades aren’t fully staffed. Even the government admitted we need 160,000 more troops to get existing units staffed to at least 85%. In other words, we call these groups brigades on paper, but they’re really more like battalions," the reserve major explained.

Still, Hetman believes the front could stabilize soon.

"We just need to pull back a bit to the west, settle into solid positions for defense, and I’m confident things will stabilize. Besides, armies can’t push forward forever — they wear down, not only in numbers but in strength. Every offensive has a plan, and then it’s done, and you need to plan anew. Weather plays a role, too. So, there’s hope we’ll see stabilization soon," he added.

• On October 29, Ukraine's National Security Council Secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko announced Ukraine’s need to call up 160,000 more soldiers to reach 85% staffing levels across military units.
• On Wednesday, October 30, reports confirmed that Russian forces captured Selydove in the Donetsk region.